


Cardioid Geometry

by faithinthepoor



Series: Desperate Housewives [23]
Category: Desperate Housewives
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 19:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1953693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithinthepoor/pseuds/faithinthepoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during One More Kiss</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cardioid Geometry

**Author's Note:**

> Follows [Unseemly](http://archiveofourown.org/works/668467), [The Theory of Everything](http://archiveofourown.org/users/faithinthepoor), [Here There Be Dragons](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673221), [Somnambulist](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673229), [Wishin’ and Hopin’](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673233), [Nosology](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673238), [Boundary Violations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673240), [Fractals](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673250), [Windmill Tilting](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673255), [Ambitendency](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673262), [Heisenberg Territory](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673272), [The Illusions of Prisms](http://archiveofourown.org/works/673700), [Keratitis Sicca](http://archiveofourown.org/works/682311), [Schrödinger’s Realm](http://archiveofourown.org/works/682327), [Chiaroscuro](http://archiveofourown.org/works/682358), [Altered Trajectories](http://archiveofourown.org/works/682370), [Elegiacs](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1952136), [Tachyphylaxis](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1952244), [Verismo](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1953516), [Forced Perspective](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1953594), [Lex Talionis](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1953624) and [Repetition Compulsion](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1953663)

As she moves from room to room discrete conversations emerge and then dissolve, blending back into the hum that appears to fill the house. The night is wearing on and mingling has ended, the guests no longer rearrange themselves in endless combinations and permutations, they have found their natural order and settled into defined groups. She continues to move amongst them, eyes scanning in an effort to detect any problem that might decrease someone’s enjoyment or ruin the event. Bree may be renowned for the soirees that she throws but she doesn’t actually enjoy the occasions themselves. The time during the event is not about fun, it’s about working to ensure that every contingency is covered, that nothing is left to chance and that the function will be remembered as a complete success. Her enjoyment comes later, once everyone has gone and everything is clean and tidy and she is able to reflect, it is something that happens in retrospect. As far as tonight’s proceedings go, she is confident that that they reached the point where things are under control and where she can begin to relax a little. The wine glass that has she has carried as a functional accessory is large and has been refilled more often than it should have been, she is definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol and considers that it would be wise to retire herself to the kitchen so that she doesn’t become the kind of problem that she is trying to avoid.

It’s safer in the kitchen, no-one in that room is driving, they have all been consuming alcohol at a rate on par with her and even if they hadn’t the antics of Edie Britt are likely to make anything else that happens seem as though it has been doused by Lethean waters. She would have put money on Edie being the focus of any gossip that the evening might generate and so Gabrielle’s behaviour comes as quite a surprise. She had already been appalled by Gabby’s talk of not wearing underwear as she felt that this brought down the tone of the evening but her main concern remained Edie who almost spat her wine out in response to Gabby’s words, she did not want to be known as the kind of hostess who threw at party at which people were sprayed with the contents of someone else’s mouth. All things considered, the kiss is a harmless moment, only witnessed by a select few, for everyone else it will be dismissed as a bit of fun but she is sure that it will be the only part of the evening that Lynette remembers. 

She had been watching Lynette since the blonde entered the room, trying not to think about how beautiful she looked or the fact that she wants to remove that cardigan and run her hands over the satiny skirt. She marvelled as Lynette casually moved from Tom’s side to stand by her, making it seem like going from the table to the other side of the bench was the logical route to take. Despite the casual movement there had been a definite sense of excitement emanating from Lynette as though she found it thrilling to flit from her husband to her girlfriend in full view of the world. There is a different kind of energy radiating from her now, Lynette is quietly seething as Tom pretends to fall off his chair and generally ham things up for his audience. Bree savours both her drink and the moment, she doesn’t like to see Lynette in pain but she does resent Tom and part of her enjoys the thought that he will be in the doghouse for a while. Tom deserves to be punished, he gets to kiss and touch Lynette in public and he acts like it means nothing. She knows that his over the top behaviour was for show but she gets the feeling that his inner band geek is exploding with excitement because the head cheerleader noticed him. She really doesn’t understand men, he already has everything and yet there is still this need to attain the dream girl of his adolescent fantasies. He doesn’t deserve Lynette, not if he is in any way attracted to Gabby. Gabrielle is sweet and cute but she is nothing special, Bree has seen her near naked and even touched her body during the dress fiasco but she felt nothing because Gabby is no Lynnette and she never will be. 

Usually Lynette acts as though the post party clean up is slave labour that she has been conscripted into but tonight she all but champions the cause as she pushes Tom out of the door. Bree had been busy imagining Tom sleeping on the couch and the possibility that she might get some time alone with Lynette and had not considered that part of Lynette’s enthusiasm was related to the fact that she wanted to give Gabby a piece of her mind. It’s hard to believe and she’s positive that it won’t last but right now she wishes that she was more like Edie, who can raise her concerns about the Applewhite’s without hesitation and who doesn’t bother with preamble when she comments on the tension between Gabby and Lynette, but she is Bree Van de Kamp and she will never know that kind of freedom. She is a little bit in love with Edie for raising the issue of the kiss in front of everyone; this gives her the opportunity to defend Lynette whilst raising suspicions about Tom. She is angry at Lynette for not being able to contain her jealousy, she doesn’t need to see such undeniable proof of the strength of her feelings for Tom. In a way she is happy that the kiss happened and that Lynette has been given a reminder of what it feels like to only have a fraction of the person that you love and to have to watch them be with someone else. She knows that what Lynette has experienced tonight is not what she feels, Lynette has the right to be angry with Gabby, she can scream it from the mountain tops if she likes, she doesn’t have to suffer in silence while her heart shrinks, bit by precious bit, as the person she loves fawns over her husband.

Lynette manages to remain in the house after the others leave, no-one seems to feel that anything is out of place, they probably think that this is part of Tom’s punishment. She finds Lynette in the kitchen, doing an adequate job of polishing the cake stand but she knows that she will polish it again once Lynette is gone. Lynette wipes her hands on cloth and spins on the stool. She responds when Lynette beckons and finds herself standing between her neighbour’s legs, this is not what she planned to do but at least she has the strength to pull away when Lynette tries to kiss her. 

“What?” Lynette asks as if it is the most natural thing in the world to be kissing her even though she clearly wants to castrate Tom for doing something similar but in reality much more innocent, “my hands are clean.”

“It’s not that.”

“No-one else is here, no-one is watching, this isn’t Victorian England,” her eyes dart to the cake stand, “well maybe it is, we could have high tea after you kiss me if that would help.”

“I can’t believe that you can expect me to be okay with this.”

“I was just being silly, I’m sorry, it’s a very nice cake stand.”

“Lynette how can you even think about kissing me after the way you’ve acted about Tom?”

“You’re jealous.”

“I just don’t like to be reminded of the fact that you have a very real marriage because it makes me wonder what we are doing.”

“Do you love one of you kids more that than other?”

She is so stunned by the question that she doesn’t even think about the fact that it doesn’t really have anything to do with the topic at hand, she is too busy being terrified that Lynette can in someway sense that her relationship with Andrew is falling apart, “How can you even ask me that?” 

“That’s not really an answer, that’s deflecting the question but I am assuming that even if you did, you would never admit it to me, you probably can’t even admit it to yourself. See me, I have favourites, I love Porter but Preston I really just keep around for spare parts.”

“Lynette,” Bree’s answer comes out as a gasp.

“It’s a joke.”

“It’s not funny.”

“It kinda is, I can’t help it if you lack a sense of humour.”

“You aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are.”

”That’s where you are wrong, I have polled all the people who count and the general consensus is that I am a comedy genius.”

“Did this poll actually include people other than you?”

“It didn’t have to,” Lynette’s smirk is so smug that she wants to kiss it from her face but she won’t be won over that easily.

“So was there a point to your tasteless attempt at a joke.”

“Do you think that because I have four children my capacity to love any single one of them is decreased compared with if they were an only child?”

“Of course not, you’re their mother.”

“Why are we so willing to believe that?” Lynette seems genuinely perplexed.

“Because it’s true.”

“Logically it can’t be. Still, I don’t feel that my emotional reserves are somehow limited and that’s kind of how I feel about the situation between you and me – I love Tom, the way I feel about you doesn’t change that but it doesn’t make my feelings for you any less significant either.”

“It’s not the same, maternal love is not the same as romantic love.”

“Well no cause the way you just said that would be a felony. I was referring to the fact that I don’t think that we can only love one person at a time.”

“That’s probably what all adulterers think.”

“We aren’t doing anything that we shouldn’t be, I can’t even get you to kiss me tonight and yet I still love you and even if you never let me kiss you again it wouldn’t make that any less true.”

“It hurts to see you with him and realise that you do love him.”

“I never claimed otherwise.”

“I know,” she tries to keep the sadness out of her voice, “but when we are together it feels so real.”

“That’s because it is.”

“But it’s never going to be enough for you.”

“That’s not fair Bree, we both knew the position that we were in when we started this, I’m sorry that your situation has changed but that’s not my fault,” she looks like she’s frightened that she has overstepped her bounds, “I shouldn’t have said that, you’re not going to slap me again are you?”

She reaches up to stroke Lynette’s cheek, “I’m so sorry about that, I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Don’t I feel lucky.”

“I’m serious Lynette, it frightens me that I did that and I don’t know how to make up for it.”

“You could kiss me.”

“That’s doesn’t seem appropriate and it doesn’t seem like enough.”

“No but it’s a start.”

She places kisses over the area of skin that she damaged, slow and deliberate movements, each one a small but definite apology. Lynette doesn’t try to hurry her, she seems to understand that this is something that she needs to go through. It’s not a catharsis but Lynette’s right, it’s a start. She finishes with a kiss to Lynette’s forehead, “You should go home and sort things out with Tom.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I guess not but it’s the right thing to do and besides Andrew will be home soon.”

“You’re really worried about him catching us aren’t you?”

“Things aren’t good with Andrew right now.”

“Do you need to talk about it?”

“Oh, probably but I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Okay but I’m here if you need me.”

“Go home and be with your family but try not to enjoy it too much.”

Golden curls bounce up and down in time with Lynette’s laugh but she does as instructed. She tries not to think about what is going on across the street, tries not to imagine that there may well be a reconciliation and make-up sex but she can’t help it, she hates the thought of his hands on Lynette of him seeing things that should be hers. She doesn’t make it easy on herself, repeatedly going to the window to check what lights are on and looking for movement or shadows but that is how she manages to catch Andrew. Her son is kissing another boy and she doesn’t know what to feel, she is so overwhelmed by her conflicting emotions that she doesn’t even notice the shiv that used to be a wine glass pierce her skin. Her head is not clear and her vision is a little blurry but she knows what she is witnessing and that there is nothing that she can do about it without creating a scene that will draw unwanted attention to her son’s actions. When he finally enters the house she has replaced the fallen soldier with a new wine glass and is well on her way to being completely anaesthetised. He speaks to her with such hatred; she wishes that he understood that she deserves pity, not disdain. She does loathe his cavalier attitude towards homosexuality and she knows that, in part, it’s because she can never be that open but it’s also because she loves him and she’s frightened for him, the world may be changing and attitudes may not be as strongly influenced by fire and brimstone as they once were but he is still choosing a very difficult path and she wants to be able to protect him from that kind of pain.

She’s not sure how she is going to be able to balance the situation with Andrew and her relationship with Lynette, the conversation through their car windows is an unexpected bonus but she can’t help but notice that their cars face in opposite directions, as though the universe is trying to tell her that they are driving away from one another. The universe is only so powerful and neither of them is able to hide their excitement about the chance meeting, Lynette looks like she wants to climb though the window and get in her car and she probably looks like she wouldn’t object, she is certainly thinking about what she would do if she had Lynette in the car. Her happiness doesn’t prevent her from making a jibe about Gabby, it’s a low blow but Lynette doesn’t seem to mind, in fact she seems very pleased to have learnt this particular piece of information. The exchange becomes something that is fun and divorced from their feelings from one another, it is a reminder of a simpler time, of how things used to be before they made the colossal mistake of falling in love. 

Whatever mistakes she may have made with Lynette, they are extremely small potatoes compared with the ones she has made in raising Andrew. She doesn’t understand how it could have gone so wrong, she did everything that she was meant to – she sort advice from experts, she attending parenting courses, she give him a good education and above everything she loved him with all of her heart. Through the sagas with Lynette and George she has thought a lot about her love being something that is impure, a force of destruction, but she wonders if that was really enough to ruin Andrew. He is more damaged than she ever could have imagined and he doesn’t seem to have a soul. She may hate him for his antics, especially the fact that he so brazenly had sex with that boy right under her nose and had him spend the night, deliberately disobeying every rule of the house and unknowingly achieving something that she and Lynette have not been able to manage. She may be angry, a little envious and not entirely sure that she likes him but she would still give her life for him. As Carl threatens her son she feels an alarming sense of satisfaction that is not just related to controlling Andrew’s behaviour and she wonders if she is actually evil and if this is something that gave to him, that Andrew is simply fulfilling his birthright, his legacy.

She is offered a reprieve from her thoughts about Andrew by something more gruesome, although she has to admit that the discovery of a dead body on Wisteria Lane is rapidly becoming a non-event. When their group disbands Lynette tells her that she has something for her and that she has to go home to get it. She leaves her door unlocked and has already begun to demolish a bottle of wine when Lynette returns with a large bag in her hand.

“You bought me a present?”

“I bought us a present,” Lynette clarifies. She peers into the bag and finds a set of sheets that she knows are far more expensive than anything that Lynette would buy for herself. Blue eyes look at her, overflowing with nervous energy, “It doesn’t have to be yet and I’m not trying to pressure you, I just want us to be prepared.”

“What brought this on?”

“The craziness with that kiss and some things that you are probably going to hear about from other people anyway so I should be the one to tell you,” she stalls as if unable to complete her story.

“Go on.”

Lynette looks at the floor as though she is too embarrassed to meet her eyes, “The kiss craziness did get out of hand and I went to the Solis’ to confront Gabby again and ended up kissing Carlos, don’t get mad it didn’t mean anything and it made me realise that I was an idiot for being so jealous of Tom kissing Gabby, either I trust him or I don’t. Oh and kissing Carols didn’t solve anything, it made things worse, I think he propositioned me today, he seemed to think that I would be interested in having an affair with him. Let me see, that’s everything, well except that Tom thinks that you are checking him out when he bends over to pick up the paper.” The words have come out in a rush as though Lynette was frightened that she would stop if she had to take a breath and she is yet to look at Bree.

“Are you going to tell Tom about kissing Carlos?”

“I don’t know, I just want the whole stupid thing to be over.”

“So why tell me, do you think I’m more likely to hear about it than him?”

“Gabby may tell you but it’s not just about that, it was really uncomfortable when Carlos tried to ask me to have an affair, although I guess he gets points for effort. I couldn’t believe that he would think I would do that to you and Tom and I realised that no-one, least of all me, has been thinking about your feelings through all of this and I am sorry about that.”

It may not be perfect but she knows that from Lynette this is a huge confession and for now she can leave it at that, “So Tom thinks that I am looking at him.”

“He’s an idiot.”

“You know that there is only one Scavo that I am interested in, you should probably make more of an effort to pick the paper up.”

Lynette giggles, “I’ll do my best, I have to go and finish putting the kids to bed but anytime you want to put those to use,” she points at the sheets and Bree swears she sees her blush, “I’m your girl.”

“Yes you are,” she emphatically replies and plants a brief but firm kiss on Lynette’s lips. She stares at the bag after Lynette leaves and realises that they are really going to do this and it is going to be planned and wanted and not something that erupts out of unbridled passion or even anger. She picks up Rex’s picture and transfers a kiss from her fingertips to the frame because wherever he is she wants him to know that she still loves him and always will but that doesn’t change the fact that she loves Lynette and at the end of the day, she wouldn’t want it to.


End file.
